Last week I had the pleasure of being in Colorado for a conference, and Brett and I went out a day early to check out Boulder before heading to Denver. We knew we wanted to hit up a brewery or two, and first on our list was Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery as it earned high marks on BeerAdvocate for both its food and beer selections.

We walked in and were seated right away in this welcoming brewpub. The walls were brightly covered with paintings for sale, and there were board games behind us if we wanted to play while we waited.

We immediately decided we would try the six beer sampler where we could choose any six of their selections for $10.50. We went with the Java Porter, Blackberry Wheat, Colorado Kind Ale, FYIPA, the Ginger Beer, and the Stout. They were all great but I think our favorites were the ginger, the porter, and the blackberry wheat.

We started our meal with a cup of their vegetarian black bean chili. It came with a side of corn chips and was not only delicious but also priced at a fantastic $2.95.

From there, we each tried one of their daily specials. I ordered the Beet Lover’s Salad, which came with roasted beets, fresh farm greens, Bermuda onions, and a goat cheese sauce. I added beer-baked tempeh to the salad, something I had only tried once before and was curious to have again. I wasn’t steered wrong, as it was a great, nutty addition to a nice summer salad. I’m a sucker for beets and goat cheese together, and this was filling but not overly heavy for a lunchtime meal.

Brett got the Mountain Mi, a spin on a traditional banh mi sandwich. It featured marinated chicken breast, pickled carrots, dikon radish, sliced cucumbers, fresh jalapenos, cilantro, Thai basil, mint and sriracha mayonnaise, all served on ciabbatta bread. He clearly loved the sandwich after clearing his plate, and has been on a banh mi kick since.

At one point a server came by and thought we had ordered a separate order of fries. We said we didn’t since Brett’s sandwich came with them, but he just left them anyway with us and didn’t charge for them. We certainly lucked out there since these were fresh-cut fries and highly addictive.

We really loved this place, and not just for the food and beer but also for the great atmosphere, friendly people, and pleasant service. You could tell that this is a perfect venue in a college town, and we lamented that there wasn’t something even remotely close to this in College Park when we went there.

We would definitely recommend Mountain Sun to anyone who happens to be in Boulder. Considering that there was a line for a table way past the lunch hour, this was clearly one of the city’s top local hangouts.

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Just a couple of foodies who, after being together in the Washington area for nearly a decade, are still in awe of all the new culinary adventures that are ahead of them. Join us as we discover new restaurants, revisit old favorites, and dig up the latest food-related news in the DMV. Oh, and please try not to salivate on your keyboard.